HOW TO MAKE SYNERGY CONTINUE TO LIVE

With two days of different panels, workshops, lectures and other interactive activities which put young people into focus in the year when Novi Sad is European Youth Capital, the two-day conference called “Young People – Trends and Innovations”, organised by OPENS in partnership with Youth Work Centre has been finished.

“We talk about systematic care about young people, but in order to even talk about that, we need to understand who the actors involved are, because in order to have a systematic approach and clear understanding of what a continuous work with young people brings, we need to know what youth policy consists of, how it is worked with young people and how many infrastructures, such as Youth Centre for example, play a great role in the development of young people and settlement of their needs”, Vukašin Grozdanović, OPENS Coordinator explains.

The Conference has provided young people with the opportunity to meet the actors of youth policy, influencers and youth workers at one place.

“It is important to see how the synergy that has been created and everything that has been created with young people at European Youth Capital is somehow helped not only financially, but by all levels of government, that the synergy continues to live, in order to make the quality of the lives of young people much better”, Snežana Klašnja, the advisor of the Minister for Youth within Ministry of Youth and Sports says.

During the first day of the conference, more than 170 participants from the entire country had the chance to hear about the examples of good practice and the degree of the inclusion of young people in the processes of decision-making. Therefore, the conference is organised in the partnership with Youth Work Centre which is also one of the organisations which are the founders of OPENS.

“For 18 years, Youth Work Centre has worked in the field of the systematic care about young people. During the work, we have established significant results and have been the initiators of numerous innovative practices. Also, Youth Work Centre is the first in Serbia to implement formal education for youth workers, through a university course, bachelor and master studies in the cooperation with international and local universities. By now, around 420 youth workers have been trained, which has significantly contributed to the personalization of youth work in Serbia, including the initiation of the establishment of NAPOR and implementation of the policy of protection and safety of children and young people within youth work”, Anja Jakšić, PR of the organisation explains.

On the second day of the conference, at Arena Cineplex Cinema, the panel about innovative approaches to work with young people and youth work which can be used today was held, named “What Are Young People In Favour Of.